So much has been written about Ger­many's Fokker D.VII that one might be forgiven for thinking there was nothing really left to be said about it. Yet, despite countless magazine features and books devoted to the type in past decades present­ing scale drawings, colour profiles and pho­tos in great abundance, recent research has forced a reappraisal of D.VII structure and finishing practices.
Reassessing available archive material and carefully scrutinizing original docu­ments, photos and drawings, diligent enthu­siasts like Dan Abbott, Peter Bowers, A E Ferko, Peter Grosz, Alex Imrie, Dave Roberts, Charles Schaedel, Wally Tripp, Ian Stair, Greg VanWyngarden and others have managed to uncover a great deal of new information which gives us a radically different 'spin' on this most famous of WWI fighter aeroplanes -as a result many modellers will now look on the D.VII in quite a different light.
It is at the modelmaker that this anthology is squarely aimed. By providing completely new and revised scale drawings, computer-generated cockpit schematics, a graphic resume of the type's oft-misinterpreted fea­tures and the first serious attempt to begin recording all known D.VII unit markings, this book breaks new ground in WWI aviation publishing. At the outset it was quickly apparent that with the large amount of fresh incoming material, one volume would prove insufficient to contain it all in the kind of depth and detail the subject duly warranted. Thus our first anthology combines a general introductory background history with accu­rate scale drawings concentrating solely on Fokker-built machines together with their wide cowling variations; a subject that forms a study in its own right.
For ease of reference, subsequent antholo­gies will offer similarly authentic general arrangement drawings that will include all the subtle detail differences for Albatros and OAW-built D.VlIs together with finishing and markings practices applicable to each. Similarly the exhaustive record of D.VII JastQ colours will be continued and we'll also be taking a closer look at surviving examples, finer points and recording the fighter's inter­national post-war career.
As ever, updates and revisions are always welcome to round out our present knowl­edge of what is generally regarded to be one of the most efficient combat aeroplanes of the first air war. For the moment, however, this new volume should satisfy even the most demanding of D.VII devotees.